Quitting
by Macy Webber
Summary: A random encounter with him can change a person's life.


I wanted to quit.

As I checked out a man who was too busy talking on his phone to notice he was holding up the line, I thought for a moment that maybe I could. I could rip my name tag off, throw it dramatically to the ground, and storm out. I never was one to follow through though. This was why I continued working my shift at the gas station with the utmost professionalism. I didn't bat an eye when a kid puked right on the counter nor did I scream when a man demanded I move faster because he had more important things to do then wait in line. Even so I was at my breaking point by the end of my shift. I watched the clock eagerly; it was mere minutes till I could leave.

"Excuse me, could I purchase this?"

I was called out of the trance the clock put on me by a voice. It sounded foreign, British maybe? Or perhaps it was Scottish, I couldn't tell them apart myself. I looked up and saw a man who I couldn't believe. He was wearing an extremely fancy black suit and tie and on his head wore one of those hats that looked like it was made from the tail of a raccoon.

"Of course sorry sir," He set down a large soda on the counter and I went through the motions of what I did almost every day, "That will be 2.79."

"Oh yes! Money!" He checked his pockets and turned up empty. I frowned to which he returned a sheepish grin, "Sorry let me just check, I know I put it somewhere."

To my amazement he bent over and took off his shoes. He started shaking them, searching for change. I looked at his drink almost enviously.

"Do you still accept Babylonian coins?" He called then corrected himself, "No, no wrong century."

I shook my head in disbelief, I just had it, this time I would follow through. I took a swig of his soda.

"Ha ha!" he cried standing right back up, "I knew I had some money somewhere. It's from this century but I think it's from China. Are you alright?"

I was leaning heavily on the counter, the whole world was spinning and changing, "What's happening?" I muttered as my head began to pound.

"You drank some? No, no, no, I needed to have the first taste so I could figure it out!" he cried.

I looked around the store and saw the other customers twist and change, they turned multicolored and their heads were oddly shaped. The strangest thing was though the man in front wasn't changing. He looked deeply worried and shined some weird light in my eye. "I, I need a doctor," I slurred my words.

"Sorry my friend, but you'll have to settle for me," he came behind the counter and held me up, "Now this is very important, it may be the most important thing in the world right now."

"What?" I cried through my delusion.

"How many blue dots are on one of those creature's foreheads?" He asked deadly serious.

"s-six," I counted quickly.

"Oh great," he sighed. The other customers or creatures, I couldn't tell anymore, turned to us and started to rush toward us. "Hey settle down, we can talk this out." They didn't seem to listen and moved faster.

"Doctor!" A girl rushed through the doors and threw a broom to the man.

"Thank you, not a second too late," he held the broom out at the creatures who cowered away from it, "That's right, go on home. This planet is not your summer home. If you don't, my companion here had the broom soaked in the juice of the orpa berry and I am not afraid to use it."

The creatures dematerialized and I slowly gained my senses. I looked around unsure of what was even going on. "What?" I asked again.

"Sorry you had to be caught up in all that," the man tapped my shoulder, "But I guess I must thank-you for helping me out there, I wasn't sure if the elixir would work on me, but it definitely works for a human."

"Human?" I asked still in disbelief of what I just saw.

"So thank you, um," he looked at my name tag and gasped, "You!" he smiled and shook my hand vigorously, "I can't believe it's you after all you did!"

"Who? Me? What did I do?"

"No wrong tense, it's what you will do, just follow your dreams. Also don't quit this job! You'll need to pay for collage somehow until your breakthrough in, no I'm babbling now. Now Good bye and good luck, not that you need it. Maybe we'll meet again or maybe we already have, oh well. I must be on my way!" As quickly as the man came he left. I cocked my head and took a minute to breathe. I smiled, I wasn't quite sure why but I felt inspired by that crazy man's words. I happily dumped out the rest of his drink and noticed an ancient looking coin sitting on the counter. I pocketed it and went on my way.

* * *

The doctor isn't any one in particular he can be whichever or even one that doesn't exist yet. Remember to comment if you liked it.


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